Limp Bizkit

Most remix albums are irrelevant or just plain awful. Fortunately, Limp Bizkit's first remix album is neither. But with high-profile remixers drawn mostly from the hip-hop world, there's not much room for error. Timbaland adds a dark industrial edge to "Take a Look Around," P. Diddy amps up the bass line on "My Way," while Butch Vig's version of "Nookie" has a decidedly 1980s electronic flavor. Best of all, though, is the Neptunes' take on "N2gether Now." Its flowered-up, old-school hip-hop presentation makes it the cheeriest thing Fred Durst's ever been involved with. In fact, the only people who don't seem to have a handle on the remixing task are those in the band: DJ Lethal's efforts--with the exception of an energetic "Counterfeit"--are irrelevant, while Durst's "Faith/Fame" remix is just plain awful. Maybe they should stick to churning out the raw material that's sold millions of albums, and leave the remixing to the professionals. --Ted Kord

Most remix albums are irrelevant or just plain awful. Fortunately, Limp Bizkit's first remix album is neither. But with high-profile remixers drawn mostly from the hip-hop world, there's not much room for error. Timbaland adds a dark industrial edge to "Take a Look Around," P. Diddy amps up the bass line on "My Way," while Butch Vig's version of "Nookie" has a decidedly 1980s electronic flavor. Best of all, though, is the Neptunes' take on "N2gether Now." Its flowered-up, old-school hip-hop presentation makes it the cheeriest thing Fred Durst's ever been involved with. In fact, the only people who don't seem to have a handle on the remixing task are those in the band: DJ Lethal's efforts--with the exception of an energetic "Counterfeit"--are irrelevant, while Durst's "Faith/Fame" remix is just plain awful. Maybe they should stick to churning out the raw material that's sold millions of albums, and leave the remixing to the professionals. --Ted Kord

Any movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is bound to have a soundtrack designed to match his brawn at every turn. The big hype here is the first Guns N' Roses track since 1993 (if Axl Rose alone can be GNR). While the track "Oh My God" alone probably isn't solid enough to distinguish this soundtrack, unreleased cuts from Korn and Limp Bizkit and notable contributions from Sonic Youth, Rob Zombie, Prodigy, and Creed make this an impressive collection of hard rock at the millennium's end. For those interested in subtler moves, Everlast contribute the previously unreleased "So Long," which was allegedly written before the Columbine High School shootings in 1999 and serves as a haunting premonition of the tragedy. Its moody introspection is a suitable counterbalance to the over-the-top rhythms and rage sported throughout. Rapper Eminem is incredibly heated with the aptly named "Bad Influence." --Rob O'Connor

Rap metal has been around ever since 1986 when Run-DMC and Aerosmith joined forces for a remake of "Walk This Way," but it took nearly a decade for Rage Against the Machine to bust the floodgates wide open. Soon after, a stream of percussive hellraisers including Korn, Downset, and Deftones infiltrated the metal market, and they, in turn, sired a new breed fronted by acts like Snot and Limp Bizkit. Three Dollar Bill Y'All, Limp Bizkit's debut album, is a tempestuous collection of divergent styles. Unlike metal acts that try to get "dope," but lack the hip-hop background to legitimately fuse the two genres, Limp Bizkit--which features Wes Borland and House of Pain member DJ Lethal--have the know-how to groove and grind. And instead of launching a one-dimensional Blitzkrieg, Limp Bizkit mixes up its rhythms and tempos to keep its listeners guessing. --Jon Wiederhorn

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008.

Florida-bred metal-rappers Limp Bizkit sold a million-plus records of their debut largely on the strength of a George Michael cover song. But the band indeed had "Faith" and the group's second outing proves that the Bizkit have the goods. Still, it seems as if boastful frontman Fred Durst is loading the band's deck again, this time by including scads of guest vocalists, such as Stone Temple Pilots' singer Scott Weiland, Method Man from Wu-Tang Clan, and Korn's Jonathan Davis. (In fact, Korn gave Limp Bizkit a leg up in the industry.) But the 16 diverse yet cohesive tracks on Significant Other don't need any help. Not as heavy as their mentors Korn--or as they are on their debut--Bizkit give Everlast a run for his money on the tuneful and appealing "Rearranged." "Just Like This" is another winning hip-hop and rock entry, while the amusing and memorable "Nookie" (as in "I did it all for the nookie") has self-deprecating lyrics not unlike the Offspring's "Self-Esteem." Bizkit segues with ease from pleasing rock and hip-hop amalgam to spooky Tool territory on "Don't Go Off Wandering" to moshable moments in the entreaty "Show Me What You Got." Significant Other may be hard to categorize, but it's easy to like. --Katherine Turman